Jam & Sunflower Thimbles

“I have a very high fever”, she mumbles with a raspy voice while trying to push a tear from her eye and at the same time figuring out which face she should put on to convince us that she is too sick for preschool. She actually did a pretty good job with that theater act. Almost had us fooled for a short while. That was until we called preschool and told them that she’d be home today. It took her literally two seconds to start jumping, laughing, pulling out all her toys and declaring that it was family play-day. After having turned the living room (aka our work space during the days) into an inferno of pencils, papers and toy horses while we snuck away to get some work done, we found her watching cartoon upside-down in the sofa and asked if she wanted to help us with a cookie recipe instead.

This is a recipe that we have tried a few times. But for the shoot, Elsa actually did most of the work herself – so she calls them ”my cookies”. We wanted the recipe to be both gluten free and nut free without using a pile of hard-to-get ingredients. We obviously have a love for nuts and nut flours, but it felt good trying something else for once. Sunflower seeds and rolled oats are great ingredients when replacing nuts. After having experimented with a few different versions – both vegan and non-vegan – we finally decided to post two recipes for these. Both turn out great in texture and flavor. I personally prefer the richness in the butter & egg cookies, but if you are vegan I think you definitely will appreciate that version as well. Luise says she can’t taste any difference.

What we particularly like about making these munchies at home is that we get to use a not-so-sweet jam to top them. Less sugar actually gives more space for the flavor. We make our own jam by simply heating up frozen raspberries and dried prunes, but if you have a favorite brand of unsweetend jam, that of course works just as well.

Set the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Spread out the sunflower seeds on the baking sheet and let them roast very quickly in the oven, just a few minutes. Put half of the sunflower seeds in a high-speed mixer together with the oats and mix until you have a coarse flour. (If you don’t have a mixer you can chop the sunflower seeds finely and grind the oats in a mortar). Add the rest of the dry ingredients the sunflower and oat flour and stir to combine. Whisk together butter, maple syrup and egg yolk (save the white for later) in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until the dough comes together. Scoop out about 15 portions of the dough and roll them between your hands into balls. If they crack easily you can add a splay of cold water to the dough. Whisk egg whites in a small bowl and chop the rest of the sunflower seeds coarsely. Dip and roll each ball in the egg white and then in the sunflower seeds. Place them on the baking sheet and use your thumb to carefully press into the center of each cookie. Fill the indents with 1 teaspoon jam (Elsa says 2 teaspoons is much better – whatever you prefer). Bake for 10-14 minutes. Let cool slightly before moving them to a wire rack. They can be a little soft and fragile at first, but firm up as soon as they chill.

Vegan Jam & Sunflower Thimbles [Gluten free + Nut free + Vegan]
This is basically the same recipe as above, but the methods are slightly altered for the vegan ingredients

Mix 1 tbsp chia seeds with 3 tbsp water and let stand 5-10 minutes until thick and gloppy. Set the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Spread out the sunflower seeds on the baking sheet and let them roast very quickly in the oven, only for a few minutes. Put half of the sunflower seeds in a high-speed mixer together with the oats and mix until you have a coarse flour. (If you don’t have a mixer you can chop the sunflower seeds finely and grind the oats in a mortar). Add the rest of the dry ingredients the sunflower and oat flour and stir to combine. Whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup and chia egg in a large bowl and beat until everything is mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until the dough comes together. Scoop out about 15 portions of the dough and roll them between your hands into balls. If they crack easily you can add a splay of cold water to the dough. Pour the plant milk in a glass and chop the rest of the sunflower seeds coarsely. Dip and roll each ball in the plant milk and then in the sunflower seeds. Place them on the baking sheet and use your thumb to carefully press into the center of each cookie. Fill the indents with 1 teaspoon jam (Elsa says 2 teaspoons is much better – whatever you prefer). Bake for 10-14 minutes. Let cool slightly before moving them to a wire rack. They can be a little soft and fragile at first, but will firm up as soon as they chill.

Raspberry & Prune JamThis makes more than what you need for the cookies.

75 Comments

Sidenote – when I was growing up my mom was a stay-at-home mom. When I was in pre-school I pretended to be sick for two weeks straight and after than my mom asked me if I wanted to go to pre-school and I said no. I never went again and only went to half of kindergarten. Fast forward through the years and you could usually find me in accelerated classes. Moral of the story – beware of cute lil girls as they can be convincing. Another moral of the story – a couple sick days [or years] won’t hurt b/c when they get older you’ll never earn that time back. My mom passed when I was in high school so it all kind of worked out that I got a couple years extra with her when i was a wee young’in.

It was such a treat to read this! I loved reading about her theatrics, as kids these days seem to have such imaginations in the age of iPads and smart phones. I enjoy this recipe. Jam is something I make on my own with homegrown fruits, so it would be nice to put it into baked goods… since it’s an ideal mid-day treat. And hello Elsa! :) x

Sidenote – when I was growing up my mom was a stay-at-home mom. When I was in pre-school I pretended to be sick for two weeks straight and after than my mom asked me if I wanted to go to pre-school and I said no. I never went again and only went to half of kindergarten. Fast forward through the years and you could usually find me in accelerated classes. Moral of the story – beware of cute lil girls as they can be convincing. Another moral of the story – a couple sick days [or years] won’t hurt b/c when they get older you’ll never earn that time back. My mom passed when I was in high school so it all kind of worked out that I got a couple years extra with her when i was a wee young’in.

Thanks for this Lovely recipe.. i have one question..i never used maple syrup and now want to start using..can you please tell me which brand you use or what do you look for in a maple syrup..i read online..and there can be lot of brands who dont sell original maple syrups.

I just had one for my little-morning-coffee-break and they are killing me !! In french we would say it’s a “tuerie”. Instead of raspberry, which I don’t have here around, I made them with a Valhrona chocolate ganache : Just perfect !! I think they might be on a next post on my blog with a link to your’s if you agree ;) Aurore

this looks good and I want to try this recipe with my elder brother. I just launched my newest food blog,well im a novice and amateur food blogger though..bt the thing is, I LOVE FOOD :) Hope you’ll be able to check my blog @ samchewsit.blogspot.com and leave your comments. I’d love to hear it from you since im following you on my blog

These cookies look oh so pretty and yummy! I know my kids will enjoy making them tomorrow during yet another snow storm/no school day here in our corner of the world.
Elsa is super adorable with her happy cardigan, glad to hear that she had a special play date with you guys making delicious cookies.

What a wonderful story, you’ll never regret the time you are able to cherish with her! And I love, what I call, thumbprint cookies so I’m always excited to encounter a new take. And the jam is sooo smart, I can’t wait to try it!

Ohh hooray! These are just the perfect cookie for this week- I can’t wait to make them tonight. And thank you for taking the time to provide the vegan version as well. I remember the richness that butter adds but as I can’t tolerate it anymore and prefer dairy-free, I always appreciate the effort to include other options. Wondering if subbing just a spoonful of molasses for maple syrup might not add a touch of that “buttery-ness” to the vegan ones? I’ll let you know how it goes! Else is adorable, too. Two thumbs up for more kids in the kitchen!

Such a sweet story. I love it and that little pumpkin of yours is just too adorable. I often let my daughter (11) sleep in and take her to school late. She works hard, gets amazing grades and is very involved in sports. I’ve never regretted keeping her by my side a little longer on particular days – you won’t either (plenty more to come!).

I can’t get over how beautiful these cookies are. Thank you for posting both versions, as I try to eat gluten-free, but I do love my butter and eggs. This will be the perfect application for the elderberry jam my mother-in-law gave us for Christmas. Can’t wait. Ps. Elsa is too cute for words.

I wanted to make biscuits with jam for a while, as I don’t live with jam lovers anymore but keep being offered delicious homemade jams. I’ve just found the perfect recepie to realise it, thank you very much Elsa & co!

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe and for Elsa being so cute and focused making them.
My friend and I have been looking at your post and dreaming about making these amazing pieces of baking. Today I thougt I make these as a Valentine’s treat for my husband. I will never forget the lovely smell in my kitchen (I never thought that sunflower seet can have such a nutty smell to them)and the big smile on my husbands face. I guess the timbales will not last very long and tomorrow I will make some more also sending off some to my friend to make our dream come true.
If you do not mind I will post some pictures on Instagram making a cross reference to your page.

I made the vegan version of these today and used 1 tbsp of flax seed and 3 tbsp of water for the egg substitute instead of the chia seeds. They turned out great. I was making them for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day and ended up eating three cookies myself before giving them to him ha. Thanks for another beautiful recipe !

happened to see your name in some magazine some time back….. didn’t remember the name of the magazine or the dish but did remember the name of your blog. One look at the blog- I was so fascinated. Perfection in every respect! After that it took me only a couple of days before I had your cookbook.
Equally am I fascinated by the similarities of our outlooks in life especially when it comes to food and raising children. I read about how much Elsa love pesto; same here – my four year old daughter can have pasta with pesto for breakfast, lunch and dinner then again the next day.
And today as I am looking at these pictures….. just cannot believe… please visit “www.handfulofrecipes.com” and have a look at the entry for ‘Tiramisu’. You will not believe it either:)

I just wanted to alert you that this post (your content) has been illegally copied on http://munspage.com/jam-sunflower-thimbles/. And you might find even more of your posts reposted, verbatim, there. I have had several of my posts stolen as well and dealt with them to remove it. I would highly recommend the same to stop illegal content pirating. You can reach out for their email address.

I have a one year old girl who smiles cries & shouts fake already which I am finding very cute right now. OMG I can’t imagine how adorable Elsa would have looked when she pranked you guys ;-P Loved the shot where she fills in the jam.

I just made these for a vegan friend and they were fantastic. I found halfway through that I didn’t have enough sunflower seeds, but I had more than enough walnuts, and the cookies were so fragrant and lovely it was like eating a platonic ideal. Thanks for your always brilliant recipes, and Elsa looks amazingly precious in these pictures.

These came out delicious! Warm from the oven as we speak! Unfortunately I am stuck home in a blizzard (but happy to be baking lol) and had to sub a few ingredients for what the recipe called for. Just know if you’re out of coconut oil AND butter, sunflower oil works. And if you’re on your last bit of maple syrup, using some agave works too. And rolling them in ground walnuts because you only had a half cup of sunflower seeds also turns out well :) Versatile recipe, healthy and still allows gluten intolerant people to enjoy as easy no fuss hoMemade treat, thank you!

Made a batch of these last night with 50/50 wholemeal flour and plain flour as did not have buckwheat and could not wait. The homemade damson jam worked a treat and my colleagues have devoured all but one of these tasty cookies by now and that one has my name on it.

Thank you for sharing! Story and recipe really cheered me up when I needed them.

These turbed out just beautiful. My husband couldn’t get over them. But mine has gone greenish from inside and it has only been 3 days. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? They still taste good. It can’t be mould, ew!?

Hello :) thank you so much for great inspirational work that you do – have your book- got it for birthday :) quick question – May buckwheat flour be substituted with rye flour in cookies and turmeric muffins? Liza.

Hi =)
I made these last week with elderberry jam, which I made according to your recipe, and they were great!
I made a partly vegan version (I used honey + butter instead of coconut oil, but replaced the egg by a flax egg). … And by accident I put the rest of the sunflower seeds in the dough as well, so I had them in the cookies instead of on them – maybe something of this was the reason for my dough being really sticky …?! Anyway I just made heaps on my baking sheet, as the decoration had ended up inside the cookies anyway, but that worked really well too. =)

They remind me a lot of some German Christmas Cookies called “Freundliche Blicke”, which we used to make when I was a kid! =)

Hi:) I’m fourteen:) My mom’s favourite seeds are sunflower seeds and I want to make these for her:) Her second favourite thing is chestnut. Do you think it will work if I use chestnut flour instead of buckwheat flour?:) And how would it taste? Her birthday is very sooon;-)